OUR
IMPACT
Supporting the local economy
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Located several kilometers north of the economic capital of Benin, our company La Distillerie Béninoise SARL has been involved in supporting the local economy since its launch in 2013.
Today, the distillery has seven local employees with long-term employment contracts including benefits. Additionally, we support Beninese young adults through our annual internship program, which offers them mentorship and valuable real-world professional experience across many functions.
We also believe that supporting the local economy also requires commitment to local development initiatives. Thus, since 2013, we have been participating in the GenEq Scholarship Girl Program led by the Peace Corps, which works to break down barriers that Beninese girls face in order to get access to education. Additionally, we're proud to partner with the Batonga Foundation which was founded by singer Angélique Kidjo in an effort to advance women's rights.
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Develop the local palm wine sector
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We're committed to developing the palm wine sector, which exists almost exclusively in the informal economy and is the raw material of sodabi.
Part of our efforts include sourcing from three farming collectives throughout southern Benin. In doing so, we are providing them with a stable, predictable revenue streams.
Additionally, in order to ensure our partnership is mutually beneficial, we're proud to be working with them to optimize their supply chain logistics to increase yield and reduce lossage.
Minimize our environmental footprint
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To make the sector more sustainable, we have partnered with Agrosfer to research more eco-friendly harvesting methods that will simultaneously reduce the environmental impact and increase yield for farmers. Our research findings will be made free for Beninese palm farmers to help them increase yield and earnings, and will include free training sessions to help them adopt these farming methods without risk of jeopardizing their normal income streams.
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In addition, our farmers have made a commitment not to use chemicals such as fertilizers, insecticides or herbicides and instead use natural methodologies.
In partnership with
Promote local culture
Our sodabi is all-natural, with no added sugar and no coloring. We produce it using industry-standard distilling equipment while staying true to its traditional origins. By elevating the product for export internationally, we believe we are helping to share Benin's culture with the rest of the world. In fact, we proudly represent sodabi at international spirits competitions.
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In 2021, we launched La Maison du Sodabi , the first tourist site dedicated to researching, preserving, and teaching the history of this traditional alcohol.